The news and herald. (Winnsboro, S.C.) 1877-1900, 1887-11-29
FARM NOTES

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S5 FARM NOTES
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INCREASING THE SIZE OF 4AppLEs.
"A correspondent says: tAmony my
native trees was one which yielded q
large crop Of small apples every alter
nate year. They were worthless for
marketing. To cause them to increase
III size thinne.l out the small branches
after the ,1rp, la,l formed, taking off
about half &thr ,s,.it.tE On gathering
\ he apples fI0m iL.s tree lii the fall /
found them nearly double the size of
previous years and about the usual
quantity In bushels. I also found the
B tree blossomed abundantly the ensuing
season., and by picking off about half
the fruit when about the size Of goose
berries, the trees Yield fruit every
year.
"A DEsIRADLE fced for having hens
must consist Of grain in variety, wheat,
grass, vegetables, oats, barley, corn
and buckwheat- being best for egg
production. But to keep up flesh and
muscle, oats and barley are necessary
as a part OF their feed. Corn should
be used sparlngly, especially insummer,
as 1t is too heating and drying to the
blood and tissues; but with other grain
in cold weatherit is desirable at times.
as fowls like it better than any other
grain. Vegetables are absolutely es-
sential to the health, thrift and produc-
tiveness OF fowls, and fresh meats or
insects Is also an Important item in the
bill Of fare.
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We can make land poor by growing
clover and selling Just as easily as we
can make 1t rich by growing clover
and feeding it on the farm. When
necessary the land should be first
drained, then cultivated thoroughly so
as to develop the latent plant food in
the soil, and then grow clover to take
up and organize this plant food for
future use Iii this way land can be
made rich. Draining and cultivation
furnishes food for the clover, and the
clover takes it up and puts 1t IN proper
shape for other crops.
ALTHOUGH Devon cattle are not
considered the best for beef produc-
lion, yet two steers exhibited at the
Chicago fat stock show took premiums
Zone of them the second premium)
over twenty.one Shorthorn and Here
ford steers. They made an average
gain Of 100 pounds In thirty days, one
weighing 1910 pounds and the other
2034 pounds at years old. Neither
had been fed any grain until they we're
3 years and months old.
A GERMAN inventor has devised u
practicable method OF Matching eggs
by electricity. The heat supplied to
the Incubator by thermometer placed
on the cover, the rising Of the mercury
cutting the coils Of wire which form
the heating apparatus out Of the cir
cult and allowing them to cool. The
only attention the eggs need is to
sprinkle them with fresh water and
turn them once q day. @
THE old rule was that q heifer with
her first calf could be reckoned half q
COW. They will generally be better
than this IL we'll fed and cared for. If
the family from which the heller
springs has been good milking strain,
they can usually be brought Of native
breeds for much less than they arc
worth They will more than pay their
way, and yearly increase in value until
they are six years old when they are az
their prime.
WITHOUT doubt, the way to get the
heaviest yield Of potatoes from small
acreage Is to plant IN drills, placing
the sets one to ono and one half feet
apart in rows from two and one-half
TO three etapart, according to variety.
But the,bulk Of potatoes for market
:, are planted where land is cheaper anu
Dlnntifrl 1nn lnI
therefore, economy to make hills with
rows both ways.
THERE is little doubt but as the
country grows oil der and the population
increases, the value OF good farming
lands will increase in price and our
methods Of agriculture become changed.
Those who are not carrying on a rota-
tion on large areas Of land must sooner
or later lot their small farms grow up
to bushes, or resort to some kind OF
special production. In this choose that
which your soil, markets, and your
ability recommend as best.
Plough up the old cow-yards, run.
ming the plough deep, and as many
loads Of earth as you can remove, so
many loads Of rich fertilizer you will
nave. An exchange has read Of an
enterprising gentleman who manured
ten acres Of grass land with earth from
under an old barn, and got enormous
groWths for several years after.
CHICKENS when first Matched should
not he hurried out Of tl;e setting nest.
For twenty-four hours, at least, from
the time the earliest commence to show
themselves, it is better to leave them
under or with the hen mother. They
need no food from q day to a day
and a half usually. When they get
strong enough to venture from boneath
their mothers wings 1t IS time to move
the brood
FALL ploughed ground is best for
cabbage. not only on account of tile
extra pulverization, but because many
eggs and lar,D have been Destroyed by
exposure to the frost. They require a
ich, sandy soil, and if planted on a
heavy, wet clay, failure Will he certain.
Plant in rows far enough apart to ad-
init OF cultivation with a one-horse
cultlvator. AZ
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